Today's Opinions

Christmas is a special time to be with family and remind them how much we love them.
A time to be thankful for our blessings. A time to set aside differences and show good will toward men.
A time to remember the plight of those less fortunate, and extend a helping hand to those who might be struggling – even if it means simply reaching into our pockets and pulling out a couple of dollars to drop in the Salvation Army’s famous red kettles perched outside grocery and department stores.

I believe the lyrics from John Lennon, “So this is Christmas,” is an appropriate way to start this letter. It is Christmas all over the world. As I acknowledge this, I cannot help but wonder which country and who are the people who keep and honor Christmas in the most fitting way. Is it the United States? Is it the fact that we have 9 percent unemployment; due in part to the fact that so, so many of our Christmas gifts come from other countries?

The meaning of Christmas is Christ. What would this world have been without that precious baby who was born in a manger? He parted the waters, made water into wine, the blind to see, the cripple to walk and fed multitudes.
Most of all he died for you and me. His name is Jesus – the greatest gift of all.

The 2011 South Carolina Athletic Programs state soccer tournament at Sumter’s Patriot Park presented quite a challenge for two Lancaster County Recreation Commission youth soccer teams earlier this month.
The Lancaster County 10-under all-stars and the 12-under all-stars ventured to Sumter to defend their state titles.
The teams were each coming off successful Central District title defenses in defeating Fort Mill to earn a repeat trip to the elite state field.
What the Lancaster County teams accomplished was downright impressive.

I want to let you know that I am tired and literally heartsick of seeing so many homeless and unwanted pets every day. Tired of knowing that in the end, at this particular time, there is not much we can do to save them, or at least to save as many as we would like to.

For the past five years, each Christmas has been celebrated without the presence of my Daddy. His sudden passing in the fall of 2006 after a diagnosis of terminal cancer left us facing the Christmas and New Year holidays without him.

Last week, the South Carolina Senate undertook the clearly political exercise unprecedented in South Carolina history of subpoenaing my staff to ask them questions about my office’s involvement in DHEC’s granting of a permit for the dredging of the Savannah port. They concluded, unequivocally, what we had said all along: Neither I nor anyone who works for me played a role in this decision one way or another.

Ann Coulter said it best in her column, “Once you go conservative black, you’d better watch your back.”
What she means by this is the frenzy of coverage that Herman Cain has gotten for those so-called sexual harassment allegations. First off, there is not one shred of evidence brought forward so far against Mr. Cain. The credibility of these women is very suspect.